Help Picking Graphics Card =)

[Towyc]

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking of upgrading from my nvidia fx5900 for Oblivion, I have an agp m/b, and I don't think I'll upgrade to pci-e yet. (since my abit is-7 m/b is socket 478, and I don't think they have pci-e's with socket 478, but in case I'm wrong, please point that out )

I was thinking of nvidia 6800gs for an upgrade at first, but then I saw Compusa selling a ati x850pro for under 200 dollars (while selling 6800gs, pci-e at that, at 280 for some reason, as opposed to 189 or so online at newegg), so I'm leaning towards x850pro now especially since Compusa is close by and I can pick it up eliminating delivery time =).

Could you guys tell me if the x850pro is a good buy if I'm expecting 6800gs performance? If the x850pro doesn't measure up, is there an ati card out there that will match the performance of the 6800gs in the same newegg price range (around $220-$250 for 6800gs agp)?

Thanks everyone
P.S. Hopefully I'm not asking "stupid" questions, but I'm too tired at 2:30am here , so I opted to simply post the question instead of searching on google again :lol: . I don't know much about ati cards, but I just had an impression that 850 series was good (not sure about the suffix pro), and the price looked enticing, and at last a random note, I also noticed that 800xl and xt was selling at around 300 dollars, maybe that's a tell-tale sign for 850pro performance? I'm too tired to think/care lol, and thanks alot guys )

 

[angry_ducky]

Could you guys tell me if the x850pro is a good buy if I'm expecting 6800gs performance?

The x850 is a great buy; it will blow the 6800gs away, and at a lower price. The only thing is that they tend to run hot, they're big, and they use a lot of power. Make sure that you have an adequate power supply (400+ watts).

 

[Towyc]

Thanks so much for the reply. .

I had some more questions/confirmations about the x850pro over the last hour (I should be alseep! :lol: ): since I heard Oblivion is heavy on the shading, could you (or anyone else, thanks!) tell me if x850pro has shader model 3.0 and hdr? (and how would this affect performance comparison between the 2 cards at games like Oblivion)

Also, I came upon some forum (off google search) saying that x850pro is below a x800gto and that x800gto is a bit less than 6800gs, ("http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/440851.html", yeah I know, pretty random site, I haven't searched too much on the topic) are they right or just totally off?

Also, I know that 6800gs agp is overclockable and unlockable, would I be able to do the same for x850pro? I'm guessing that this wouldn't be too doable on x850pro as it runs too hot already, but I'm just guessing . Could you tell me a ball park temperature for 850pro that I can compare with if I do actually get the x850pro? Also I have a max 420W PSU, is this enough?

Thanks again for the help

 

[sleepdeprived82]

I would put the x850xt ahead of the 6800gs in performance wise but

The x850pro has 4 less pipelines than the 850xt making it slower. Performance wise its about the same as the x800xl but better than the x800gto.

I would put the x850pro and the 6800gs at about the same level (some one may correct me but benchmarks are few).

If you can find a x850xt that would be much better as it has the full 16 pipelines.

Yes and no to the x850 series having HDR, and no they do not have SM3 but there is not much difference between 2 and 3. I myself would not worry about SM3 as not many titles use it anyway plus DX10 is round the corner which will change things again.

 

[sleepdeprived82]

420w should be enough for any of the cards, but watts is not the best indicator the 12v rail is the important part.

There are som people who have unlocked the x850pro but it appears the late versions are not unlockable.

 

[Heyyou27]

Could you guys tell me if the x850pro is a good buy if I'm expecting 6800gs performance?

The x850 is a great buy; it will blow the 6800gs away, and at a lower price. The only thing is that they tend to run hot, they're big, and they use a lot of power. Make sure that you have an adequate power supply (400+ watts).The PCIe X850 XTs are cheaper, the AGP ones are still very expensive.

 

[TheMaster]

I have an agp m/b, and I don't think I'll upgrade to pci-e yet. (since my abit is-7 m/b is socket 478, and I don't think they have pci-e's with socket 478, but in case I'm wrong, please point that out )

You're wrong!
Points to SIG
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V

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Just FYI the GF6800GS in AGP format is slower than PCIe, but has the rare option to unlock 4 pixel pipes and 1 vertex engine. this will bring it close to the X850Xt's performance but not better than it. And in Oblivion it's a toss up right now. Ati is currently more stable (should be they developed the game using them basically), but the GF6 does offer you HDR.

It's a difficult choice, but for the money you're spending you may want to consider that PCIe equipped S478.